Well, with exactly 5 weeks to go, the Christmas adverts are out in force!
For some years now, the John Lewis Christmas advert has been long-awaited and highly-acclaimed but this years’ offering has been met with a very mixed reaction…
For me, it’s a winner! But that’s more about the featured song itself, rather than the message within the advert.
‘Your Song’ by Elton John peaked at number 7 in the UK charts, just a week after I was born. This song will always be a marker for the music scene at the time of my birth; I’ve loved this track, and its lyrics, for as long as I can remember.
Lyrics are such a powerful tool for expressing sentiment and emotions. Music, in its wider context, becomes a soundtrack to our life, with particular songs or compositions marking key stages, events and milestones along our path. It is a universal medium which enables us to exercise freedom and artistic impression and most people can relate to music, even when they may not find it easy to engage on other levels.
When I meet with couples to plan weddings or families to plan funerals, the choice of music is always such an intrinsic part of our conversation. Songs can speak when we sometimes find ourselves unable to find the words and so the importance of choosing the right music for such occasions cannot be understated.
As for ‘Your Song’, it will always be up there for me, on a personal level.
‘And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple, but now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind
I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is, now you’re in the world’
